Dispersion in Optical Fibre (I)

Optical Communications Systems

Dispersion limits available bandwidth
As bit rates are increasing, dispersion is becoming
a critical aspect of most systems
Dispersion can be reduced by fibre design
Optical source selection is important
Introduction
Dispersion in Optical
Fibres
Dispersion in an Optical Fibre
Modal dispersion
Chromatic dispersion
Polarization Mode dispersion (PMD)
Multimode fibre
(LAN systems)
Singlemode fibre
(Telecom systems)
Why is dispersion a problem?
Dispersion
Pulse
spreading
Intersymbol
Interference
Degrades
error rate
Data at fibre input
1 0 1
Optical Fibre
Data at fibre output
Pulse spreading makes it more
difficult to distinguish "0"
1 0 1
Example
Dispersion and Bit Rate
The higher dispersion the longer the bit interval which must be used
A longer the bit interval means fewer bits can be transmitted per unit of time
A longer bit interval means a lower bit rate
Conclusion: The higher the dispersion the lower the bit rate
Bit interval "T"
1 0 1
Longer bit interval
1 0 1
Fibre output with no Dispersion Fibre output with Dispersion
Dispersion Example
Photo of Input and Output pulses for a 200 micron
core Polymer Clad Silica fibre showing pulse
broadening (dispersion)
Modal Dispersion
In a multimode fibre different modes travel at different velocities
If a pulse is constituted from different modes then intermodal
dispersion occurs
Modal dispersion is greatest in multimode step index fibres
The drive to reduce modal dispersion led to the development of graded
index multimode fibre and singlemode fibre.
A ray model can give and adequate description of modal dispersion
Modal Dispersion
Modal dispersion is greatest in multimode step index fibres
The more modes the greater the modal dispersion
Typical bandwidth of a step index fibre may be as low as 10 MHz over 1 km
Cladding
Core
c
b
a
Fibre Axis
Narrow pulse at fibre input
Broadened pulse at fibre output
Light ray (a) follows a longer path
within the fibre than light ray (c)
Step Index
Fibre
Analysis for Modal
Dispersion
Core
Fibre Axis

a

c
Cladding

n
2
n
1
Estimating Modal Dispersion
(Step Index Fibre)
Extreme meridional ray
Axial ray
Assume:
Step index fibre
An impulse-like fibre input pulse
Energy is equally distributed between rays with paths lying between the axial and
the extreme meridional
What is the difference in delay for the two extremes over a linear path length L?
Step Index Modal Dispersion:
Analysis (I)
Core
Fibre Axis

c
Cladding

n
2
n
1
Extreme meridional ray
Axial ray
Transmission distance = L
T
max
= Transmission time for extreme meridional ray
T
min
= Transmission time for axial ray
Delay difference t = T
max
- T
min
Step Index Modal Dispersion:
Analysis (II)
Fibre Axis

c
n
2
n
1
Extreme meridional ray
Axial ray
T
min
=
Distance
Velocity
=
L
(c/n
1
)
=
Ln
1
c
d
h
a
To find T
max
realise that the ray travels a distance h but only travels a distance d
toward the fibre end (d<h). So if the fibre length is L then the actual distance travelled
is:
h.L
d
Step Index Modal Dispersion:
Analysis (III)
Fibre Axis

c
n
2
n
1
Extreme meridional ray
Axial ray
d
h
a
Using Snell's law:
T
max
=
Ln
1
c cos
n
2
n
1
= cos
sin
c
=
T
max
=
Ln
1
cn
2
Delay difference t = T
max
- T
min
2
Ln
1
cn
2
=
2
Ln
1
c
-
Using simple trigonometry
Step Index Modal Dispersion:
Analysis (IV)
t =
2
Ln
1
cn
2
=
n
1
- n
2
n
1
2
Ln
1
cn
2
Assumes << 1
t =
2
L(NA)
2 c n
1
Show for yourselves that:
Impulse Response for Step Index
Fibre

t
Assume an impulse input to the fibre
Output is a pulse of uniform amplitude over
a time period T
max
- T
min
=
t
Output pulse of width
t
is thus the impulse
response of the fibre.
Assuming an output pulse amplitude of 1/
t
,the impulse response h(t) is given by:
Fibre
Impulse
input
1/
t

t/2
+
t/2 t
h(t) = 1/
t

t
/2
< t < +
t
/2
h(t) = 0 elsewhere
Transfer Function for a Step
Index Fibre
Take the Fourier transform of the impulse response
The transfer function of the fibre H(f) is given by:
H(f) = sinc f
t
1.0
1
/
t
2
/
t
3
/
t
Frequency
Plot of H(f) is sinc like
1st zero is at
1
/
t
, the so
called essential bandwidth for
a system, BW
Note: sinc x = sin x
x
BW
Bandwidth for a Step Index Fibre
(I)
Essential bandwidth, BW, for the fibre is
1
/
t
Based on the previous analysis BW can be written as:
L(NA)
2
2 c n
1
BW =
BW get smaller as fibre length L increases
High NA fibres have lower bandwidths, eg plastic fibre has high NA: Poor
bandwidth
Lowering NA to improve bandwidth makes source coupling more difficult as the
acceptance angle decreases
Bandwidth Problem: Plastic
Optical Fibre
Conventional plastic optical fibre is step index, low bandwidth
NA is about 0.4, core refractive index is about 1.5
Show that the BW over 1 km is about 6 MHz
Measured values are about 6 to 10 MHz so analysis is about right
L(NA)
2
2 c n
1
BW =
Reducing Modal
Dispersion
Reducing Modal Dispersion
Reduce the difference between the propagation
velocities of different modes
Reduce the number of modes to one
Graded index fibre design
Singlemode fibre design
Reducing Dispersion using a
Graded Index Fibre
Cladding
Core b
a
Fibre Axis
Light ray (a) and (b) are refracted progressively within the fibre. Notice that light ray
(a) follows a longer path within the fibre than light ray (b)
Ray (a) follows a longer path, but the much of the path lies within the lower refractive index
part of the fibre.
Ray (b) follows a shorter path, but near the fibre axis where the refractive index is higher
Since the velocity increases as the refractive index decreases the time delay between (a)
and (b) is equalised
The Profile Parameter and
Intermodal Dispersion
Recall that the profile parameter for a graded index fibre dictates the
shape of the refractive index profile
Why does the profile parameter used for graded index fibre has a
common value of about 2?
It can be shown that the optimum value of that maximises the bandwidth
of GI fibre is given by:
= 2.(1-)
A common value for GI multimode fibre is 0.02 (2%) (Lucent 62.5/125 m)
For this value the optimum profile parameter has a value of 1.96.
Variation in Modal Dispersion
with the Profile Parameter
Plot below shows variation in intermodal dispersion with the profile parameter.
Plot assumes a value of 1% for the fibre.
Large value of > 3 means a profile approaching step index.
Dispersion drops by more than 100:1 with circa 2 by comparison with > 3
Thus bandwidth of graded index is > 100 times higher than step index
Quantifying Dispersion
in a GI Fibre (I)
Very involved analysis
As in the step index case one determines maximum time difference
between the two most extreme modes
Most common expression is:
By comparison the equivalent value for a step index fibre has been shown to be:
t
GI
=
2
L n
1
c.8
t
SI
=
2
L n
1
cn
2
Because of the
2
dependence for graded index the dispersion is much lower
since is << 1.
Quantifying Dispersion
in a GI Fibre (II)
Using the formulas below and assuming an n
1
value of 1.5, plot the
maximum time delay or dispersion for a step index and a graded index fibre
for values of from 0.01 to 0.05 using the units "ns per km" and using a
common axis for .
t
GI
=
2
L n
1
c.8
t
SI
=
2
L n
1
cn
2
Using Singlemode Optical Fibre
to Eliminate Modal Dispersion
Cladding
Small Core
No modal dispersion since only one mode propagates
Most effective way to overcome modal dispersion
Potential bandwidth is in the order of 20 THz